Grouplove – Colours (Captain Cuts Mix)

Now the other week, I posted the video for the undeniably catchy “Colours” by Grouplove. At the same time, I grumbled a bit about there being too many guitars and shouting. And, well, look at them up there, with their ironic giant t-shirt thing. Tsk. Anyway, thankfully, some helpful chap called Captain Cuts came along and fixed things and made “Colours” 100% more awesome. Not sure if he’s also told them to ditch the big t-shirt, but I’d like to think so. I thank you Captain!

GROUPLOVE – Colours (Captain Cuts Remix)

Paper Crows – Fingertips

It’s Sunday afternoon, so have some gothy yet unbelievably pretty tunes from Paper Crows. 19 year old (!) Emma Panas’ ice-pure vocals have already been compared to everyone from Bjork to Kate Bush, and while they’ll have to do a little more to prove they really belong in such illustrious company, on the evidence so far it all looks rather promising.

This is beautiful stuff, of that there’s no doubt. Sounds a little bit Portishead, but with a modern touch. It’s really not too hard to see this appealing to the same mainstream audience that took to the XX.

Current single Fingertips, previous (and more dubstep-y) single Stand Alight, and a cover of Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting all below:

Paper Crows – Fingertips by Sainted PR

Paper Crows – Stand Alight by fadedglamourblog

Paper Crows – Cloudbusting by The Big Beat

Video: Mums of Death – Golden Axe

Reasons to press “play”:

1. AMAZING retro 8-bit gaming goes clubbing video. Honestly, the overhead shots remind me so much of playing games on the C64 when I was a kid that I kept expecting the screen to freeze and the tape deck to make terrifying buzzing noises.

2. MUMS OF DEATH (Mumdance + Drums of Death) is the way you do this “two dance producers into one name” thing. Take note “ROBORTOM.”

3. It’s “banging”.

Ladytron – Ace of Hz (& remixes)

The lovely, lovely Ladytron are about to put out their Best Of (guaranteed amazing – more on this theme tomorrow) called Ladytron 00-10, which has a nicely appropriate binary feel to it.

In the meantime, as well as working on their fifth studio, they’ve just unleashed a couple of remixes for their latest single Ace of Hz, out tomorrow. You can buy it with money, listen to it (and some remixes) below, or head over here to download an MP3 of the Punks Jump Up radio remix. Which is pretty decent.

My pick of the bunch below though is the Tiesto mix, which takes the original’s (slightly excessively) glacial vibe and drags it kicking and screaming into some massive arena. Of course it does.

Ladytron – Ace Of Hz EP

Ladytron – Ace Of Hz (Punks Jump Up Remix Radio Edit)

Beth Ditto – I Wrote The Book

As anyone who heard last year’s Cruel Intentions will know, the Beth Ditto/ Simian Mobile Disco combination works quite nicely. Beth’s voice is actually rather pretty when layered over some tasteful downbeat dance music, rather than shouting over some predictable old garage rock.

Anyhow, she’s about to release her debut self-titled solo EP, again with help from those SMD chaps. Here’s the first taster from it. Not going to change the world, but enjoyable enough.

Listen below to the full version of “I Wrote the Book” and a sampler of the rest of the EP.

Beth Ditto – I Wrote The Book

Beth Ditto EP preview

Yelle – Safari Disco Club

This is just daft really isn’t it? Animals dancing at a Safari Disco Club. OK. Twee-lectro. French Twee-lectro.

I thought Yelle was supposed to be trendy a few years back?

Anyway this IS very daft, but also quite catchy. So OK then Yelle, you can stay.

Safari Disco Club

The MP3 is available as a freebie over here.

Keren Ann – My Name is Trouble

Too lovely not to post.

Keren Ann – My Name Is Trouble

International type Keren Ann (you may have heard her on something like Gray’s Anatomy, or having her songs covered by the likes of Jane Birkin and Francoise Hardy) is now on her fifth album. Aside from the odd track here and there, she’s largely passed me by. This is the lead track from upcoming album number six, entitled 101 and out in February. It’s icy-cold yet assured, cinematic and classy. I’ll pay more attention in future.

Her website has a neat little player for this song that does nifty things with comments. Oh, and a remix competition. Yes, another one of those. Sigh.

Telephoned – Hold Me

Telephoned… basically your average Brooklyn art prank band, right? Surfacing a few years back with that ‘Pop Champagne’ version, Sammy Bananas (YES) and Maggie Horn have made party-friendly, and some might say ever so slightly silly, cover versions their way of life for the past few years. Their Off The Hook mixtape, featuring a bunch of covers from the sublime (Kyla’s Do You Mind) to the unnecessary (Kings of Lyawn), is still available for FREE here and is still fun.

Hold Me is the duo’s first entirely original track, and it’s pretty sweet actually. Sure, the squelchy synths are still present and correct, but there’s also a new subtlety to the vocals that makes it all rather lovely. True to form, though, they’ve also covered themselves on the b-side, taking the original to loungey, and possibly ill-advised, new lands.

Both versions can be streamed below at Soundcloud, along with a typically borderline genius/ridiculous take on Kid Sister’s amazing Daydreaming, that throws in a few more dreams along the way…

Hold Me

Hold Me (Cover Version)

Kid Sister – Daydreaming (Telephoned Dreams Version)

New MIA video – XXXO

I’m still really not sure about the new MIA. OK, I am – I don’t really like it. Not hugely controversial as an opinion, that. I do quite like this track though. It’s kind of an extended shrug with a tune, which I guess is what MIA does well. No huge boundaries being broken down here, but it works, just about. Anyway, here’s a video for it. Once again, no fireworks (or indeed bizarre ginger-baiting) here, unless you count a succession of increasingly tacky graphics. Worth a look though, I guess. Um…

New Janelle Monae video – Cold War

Simplicity is often beautiful. As here, where we basically get three and a half minutes of the majestic Ms Monae’s face, Sinead-style (down to the tears). And what else do you need? There’s a lot going on in the music here (which, by the way, I prefer to Tightrope), and the measured video counters that perfectly. It should feel claustrophobic, but instead it’s wide open. Awesome.